ZIMSEC O Level · Geography · Form 3, Form 4
Population
Zimbabwe's 2022 census counted about 15.2 million people.
- Population density = people ÷ area.
- Distribution is uneven: dense on the fertile, well-watered highveld and in towns; sparse in dry, tsetse-infested or rugged areas.
- Natural increase = birth rate − death rate. Population pyramids show age and sex structure; a wide base means many young people.
- Migration: rural–urban migration for jobs and services; emigration to South Africa, Botswana and the UK.
Settlement
- Rural: communal lands, resettlement areas, commercial farms, small-scale farms. Patterns may be nucleated, linear (along roads) or dispersed.
- Urban: Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru, Kwekwe and others. Towns grow at route centres, mines, and administrative or industrial sites.
Urban problems and solutions
Problems: housing shortages and informal settlements, unemployment, traffic congestion, water and sanitation shortages, pollution.
Solutions: low-cost housing schemes, improved public transport, growth points in rural areas (decentralisation), better water and waste management.
Exam tip: Use named examples – a town, a growth point (e.g. Gutu or Murambinda) – to strengthen answers.
Check yourself
- Define population density.
- Give two push factors and two pull factors of rural–urban migration.
- State two problems caused by rapid urban growth.
Show answers
- The number of people per square kilometre.
- Push: drought, lack of jobs/services, land shortage. Pull: jobs, schools, hospitals, better services.
- Any two: housing shortages, unemployment, congestion, water shortages, pollution.
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